I have my students fill out a learning style inventory form which makes teh student grasp the concept of a learning style. some studenst have never heard of one so they dont know how they learn. Which in turn makes that student a challenge to instruct by instituting this you may find that retention will remain above average because people will enjoy learning
One way to find out about the needs of diverse learners is to speak with instructors who have had these students in class before. Another way is to use some type of extrapolation methodology such as: asking a few key questions of your students, having one-on-one sessions with your students, and/or asking students to fill out a carefully planned questionaire. These types of inquiries might just reveal some important information about the needs of your students.
Tiwauna,
I would definitely agree that the one-one attention is where we can often see breakthroughs.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I think we can learn from diverse learners by speaking one on one with them, performing general assessments in order to target their trouble areas, and surveys.
Samuel,
this is a great way to help you determine where you can really help all of your students.
Dr. Ryan Meers
When starting a new course with students whom I am unfamiliar, I like to some introductory exercises. Aside from the usual 'meet and greet', I like to do some individual and group exercises. I find these exercises illustrate a student's ability to desl with group dymanics, follow written and oral direction, demonstrate comprehension of written materials and visual presentations, etc.
I typically find that although some learners are of the 'read it, digest it, read it again' variety, most excel when presented with a variety of modalities that include lecture, visual (PowerPoint, videos, Internet snippets, etc.). This is particularly useful with students of diverse cultrual backgrounds or ESL students who cannot rely on didactic lectures as a sole source of information or motivation.
To learn about the needs of diverse learners, I use variety of methods. First, I try to carefully observe student interactions during introductory/ice-breaker exercises. This begins to give me some insight into how comfortable students are in responding to new or unfamiliar circumstances.
I also use a confidential student inventory with specific questions about their preferred learning activities, and more specifically, ask them to rate themselves on study, reading, writing, and presentation skills. I also ask if they have already identified any specific learning disabilities or if they have any specific concerns which may affect their learning success.
In using these methods, I have found that students give a variety of responses that form talking points for me to discuss with them individually as I begin to assess their performance throughout the term. Their feedback gives me important information on where they have identified or perceive they have identified any issues which need to be addressed.
I am faced with two issues in diverse learners. One is the language, usually Chinesse, and the other is the variety of specific discipline teaching that is found in dental schools.
One step in learning about the needs of a diverse learner is to communicate with other instructors. You want to see if they have dealt with this issue or perhaps had the same student you are seeking to find information about. Find out what steps worked for them and how the situation was approached. Also, there are a lot of resources available on line that a person could find information for the success of the student. Third, I would personally make sure there was a open line of communication between the Instructor and the student. I would ask questions about what has worked for them in the past, what ideas or techniques does he/she think would work for the class. All while maintaining a level of professionalism and showing that I am willing to help in order to see success!
Radha,
I agree that a big part of it is staying in tune with our students & properly monitoring their progress.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Observing your students carefully through testing and class asignments .This way instructors will be able to understand diverse learners in their class
One way to understand the needs of the diverse learner would be an evaluation of the pretest (written) given to determine a baseline of each students knowledge as a class starts. A second would be to gauge the understanding a student has as the class starts, judge eye contact, ask probing questions to determine if a student is engaged. Finally you can judge the students oral responses in class to determine if they can follow the lecture or discussion and assimilate the course content in their response.
I have a very diverse student population, from primary US to ESL..or third...
I identify problem areas as soon as I can and work with the students. I help them with spelling, language, and take into consideration their issues when testing. For example, I have a student who is non-US born, ESL. She is very articulate, however, she spells "how I think", and this creates grammer and syntax problems. I review her work and then explain to her the rules of English and how words that seem acceptable, aren't. I then suggest alternatives. She has improved in her product and confidence.
I am always cognizant of other cultures at play in my class room and work with them. I have also had special needs students who are self identified and provided with extra time etc.
I think that our diversity in culture and ethnical backgrounds warrants instructors to think and refine the way we teach as much as possible to meet the needs of the learners. I personally like talking with the students finding out alittle about their backgrounds and cultures on day one. This helps me formulate a plan of attack to aiding them in the learning process. Most of our students as you pointed out with learning disabilities are not stupid by any means they just need a little extra.
I will utilize asking the student what I can do to aid them in the learning process and enjoyed this course
I give an informal mini assessment to each individual. I speak with them asking their subjective opinions of their learning, then give a small reading/writing assessment after which I note areas where they may need help.
One can learn about the needs of diverse learners by finding out about their abilities, their life experiences , as well as what it takes to motivate them. Their skills and abilities can be assessed on the first day of class by giving them a pretest. Their life experiences and background, as well as what motivates them can also be found out on the first day by giving them an opportunity to talk about themselves or write a short paragraph about themselves. By acquiring these pieces of information, one can tailor the instruction to the needs of their students.
I tell student that need to read it where it is in the book and highlight it. I asked them to compare two different things to see if they can visualize it. Our program lends itself to many different ways of teaching ie... labs, computer interactive learning and lecture. I tell students about how I need to learn and ask them how they learn the easiest.
Listen to their ideas on each assignment.
Have them present their views on class assignments that might be different from others.
Review their records to get an idea of background.
"Tell me about yourself" short paper.
Leon Guendoo
I have a student with English as his second language. I do sometimes forget that he does not speak English natively, due to his skill at daily language tasks. As your study lessons have stated, his technical language is definately behind his street language. I have tried to define new terms, but do not always know when he understands, as he is not easy to read.
Taking courses such as these is one step in learning what the needs of diverse learners is. Constantly gaining knowledge on how to reach all levels of learners is a key to being a successful instructor on many levels.
